The present invention relates to an electronic programming system for programmable ammunition, which, since they are provided, for example, with guide systems for target aiming and interception, have to be programmed before the deflagration of the ammunition itself by means of a firearm with medium-big caliber.
Said ammunition normally comprise, inside the detonating fuse, a plurality of electronic devices, which receive commands, store them and use them, for example, for locating a target or aiming at it.
Mechanical programming systems of the detonating fuses are already known in the technical field, such as for example the so-called “setter” systems, in which the detonating fuse is mechanically programmed to deflagrate after a predetermined amount of time.
There are, furthermore, programming systems of the detonating fuses which use electromagnetic waves, sent by suited transmitter devices, in order to transfer information to the electronic devices comprised in said detonating fuse.
Said electromagnetic waves are received by receiver devices, arranged inside the detonating fuse, programming in this way the detonating fuse itself.
These latter systems, which are normally applied on firearms with medium-big calibers, are not reliable, since the great number of electromechanical devices present in the firearm can cause interferences with said electromagnetic signal, thus generating a programming which is often wrong.
Finally, there are ammunition programming systems which send data to the electronic devices in the detonating fuse by means of a communication means, normally a cable. Said cables are terminated with a particular connector, which varies according to the communication standard implemented.
Said cable programming systems, even though much safer than the above-mentioned ones, require a great amount of time to perform said programming and, therefore, can hardly be automated and directly implemented on firearms with medium-big caliber. The difficulty to automate said systems is due to the standardized connectors, whose connection to the different detonating fuses to be programmed has to be mainly carried out by hand by an operator.
For this reason, the detonating fuses are not programmed when they are already placed in the firearm, for example in proximity to breech or in the firing chamber, but they are pre-programmed offline, before the ammunition are positioned in the firearm. The object of present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing a programming system of the detonating fuses for programmables ammunition, which can be directly implemented in the firearm by electrically establishing a contact between the detonating fuse and said system, thus remarkably reducing the programming errors of said detonating fuses and, furthermore, accelerating the programming procedure.